Turbine structure and gate structure having flexible joint and inside stuffing for tidal power plant

ABSTRACT

A turbine structure and a gate structure for tidal power plants of the present invention features that middle walls which can be installed as two units of one block are installed with an inside stuffing and a flexible joint so as to absorb and reduce the internal and external effects of the buoyancy and mechanical vibration of the turbine structures and the gate structures on the tidal power plants, save construction costs by shortened construction period and reduced concrete placing quantity, and prevent the cracks of concrete and the generation of hydration heat. The turbine structure having the flexible joint and the inside stuffing for tidal power plants comprises a base which bottom part is on the submarine rock so that a turbine structure between lake and sea which is connected with a gate structure by the medium of a connection structure can be installed as two units of one block; vertical middle walls which are formed on the base, the top of which is closed by a concrete structure wherein a draft tube and a discharge tube by which seawater can move inside; turbine generators which are arranged between the middle walls through the draft tubes; an inside stuffing space which is formed in the middle walls on one side installed in a predetermined distance on the base of the gate structure and filled with seawater; and a flexible joint of connecting the middle walls on the other side.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a turbine structure and a gate structure for tidal power plants, featuring middle walls which are vertically installed on the base so that the turbine structures and gate structures can be installed in blocks. The middle walls on one side form an inside stuffing space in a specific section and this inside stuffing space is filled with seawater to shorten the construction period and reduce the concrete placing quantity for saving construction costs, the stability of the structure is secured by buoyancy, while the middle walls on the other side absorb the internal and external influences such as mechanical vibration and earthquake to achieve the stability of the structure.

BACKGROUND ART

In the case of the commercial tidal power plant in La Lance, France which boasts the world's largest tidal power generation, the lock gate structure was designed without joints between blocks. For stability of the structure, the entire length 115 m of the total lock gate structure was constructed with concrete in one shot. If concrete placing is done in one shot for the total structure, it is difficult to constrain the generation of excessive hydration heat and may cause cracks on the structure.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention provides turbine structures and gate structures for tidal power plants which are integrated with management facilities and access roads as two units of one block so that the blocks of turbine structures and gate structures can be increased or decreased according to the site scale and generation capacity of the tidal power plant and to cope with the site situation.

Two units of one block of turbine structures and gate structures as described above are defined as one block of the turbine structure in which two turbine generators divided by a middle wall are installed and operated separately. Likewise, it is defined as one block of the gate structure in which two water gates divided by a middle wall are installed and operated separately.

Furthermore, the turbine structure and the gate structure for tidal power plants of the present invention features that middle walls which can be installed as two units of one block are installed with an inside stuffing and a flexible joint so as to absorb and reduce the internal and external effects of the buoyancy and mechanical vibration of the turbine structures and the gate structures on the tidal power plants, save construction costs by shortened construction period and reduced concrete placing quantity, and prevent the cracks of concrete and the generation of hydration heat. They are designed to provide an advantage in structural stability even for the buoyancy generated when water is discharged through only one power generation conduit during maintenance.

An object of the present invention is to provide a base whose bottom part is on the submarine rock so that a turbine structure between lake and sea, which is connected with a water gate structure by the medium of a connection structure, can be installed as two units of one block, and vertical middle walls on the base, the top of which is closed by a concrete structure wherein a draft tube and a discharge tube by which seawater can move inside are formed and turbine generators are arranged between the middle walls through the draft tubes.

The middle walls on one side installed in a predetermined distance on the base of the turbine structure feature an inside stuffing space in a specific section which is filled with seawater and the middle walls on the other side feature flexible joints.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a base whose bottom part is on the submarine rock so that a gate structure between lake and sea which is connected with a turbine structure by the medium of a connection structure can be installed as two units of one block, and vertical middle walls on the base, the top of which is closed by a concrete structure wherein a driving channel by which seawater can move inside, are formed and water gates are arranged at one side of the driving channels installed between the middle walls.

The middle walls, on one side installed in a predetermined distance on the base of the gate structure, feature an inside stuffing space in a specific section which is filled with seawater and the middle walls on the other side feature flexible joints.

The material of the above-mentioned flexible joints may be either cork or expandable polystyrene.

The inside stuffing space filled with seawater in the middle walls features pipe meters installed for water level observation for seawater level management.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plane view illustrating an arrangement state of an entire tidal power plant for installing turbine structures and gate structures according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating one part of the turbine structures shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the inside of the stuffing spaces formed in the middle walls of the turbine structures shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating the inside of the stuffing spaces of the middle walls and flexible joints at a state such that a turbine structure is cut;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating one part of the gate structures shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating the inside of the stuffing spaces formed in the middle walls of the gate structures shown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating the inside of the stuffing spaces of the middle walls and flexible joints at a state such that a gate structure is cut;

BEST MODE

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings illustrate example embodiments of the present invention. Example embodiments may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be considered as limited to the embodiments set forth in the drawings. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

Therefore, the example in this specification and the construction illustrated on the drawings is only one desirable example of this invention and does not represent all the technical ideas of this invention. There can be various equivalents and variations of this invention at the time of this application.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a tidal power plant (10) is installed between lake (L) and sea (W) on a construction site for tidal power plants in which the difference of the flux and reflux of the tides is appropriate.

The above-mentioned tidal power plant (10) consists of multiple blocks of turbine structures (20) and water gate structures (50) which can be installed as two units of one block, and a connection structure between them, and has an ocean tour function, an access road function, and a power generation function at the same time. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 90 illustrates the wing wall of a turbine structure connected to the outermost turbine structure (20), and reference numeral 100 illustrates the wing wall of a water gate structure connected to the outermost water gate structure (50).

As illustrated in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4, the turbine structure (20) has a base (21) of which a bottom part is on the marine rock, and vertical middle walls (22) on the base (21), the top of which is closed by a concrete structure whose illustration is omitted wherein a draft tube (23) is formed, and turbine generators (24) are arranged in this draft tube. This turbine structure runs the turbine generator (24) and discharges water through the discharge tube (23 a) to generate power by the principle of using the difference of water levels between the sea and the lake by the flux and reflux of the tides.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 25 illustrates the stop log support wall on the sea side, reference numeral 26 the stop log support wall on the lake side, reference numeral 27 the ceiling crane that runs the turbine generator room, reference numeral 28 the roof, reference numeral 29 a moving cart, reference numeral 30 a crane for maintenance of the stop log on the sea side and turbine generator, reference numeral 31 a crane for movement of stop log, reference numerals 32 and 33 the first road and second road of the multi-layer structure.

As mentioned above, the turbine structures (20) are operated by blocks separated by middle walls (22) installed on the base, and by turbine generators (24) arranged between the middle walls (22) through the draft tube (23) as shown in FIG. 4.

An inner part of the middle walls (22) on one side is formed by an inside stuffing space (22 a) in a certain section as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, which is filled with seawater, while the middle walls (22) on the other side are connected by flexible joint members (40).

The material of the above-mentioned flexible joint members (40) may be either cork having elasticity or expandable polystyrene.

Meanwhile, in the inside stuffing space (22 a) filled with seawater inside the middle walls (22), pipe meters (34) are installed for water level observation for seawater level management as illustrated in FIG. 3.

The middle walls (22) on one side which are connected by flexible joint members (40) are formed as one integrated body by attaching two structures (a) and (b) by the flexible joint member (40).

The gate structure illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 features a base (51) which bottom part is on the marine rock, and vertical middle walls (52) on this base (51). The top of these middle walls (52) is closed by a concrete structure, of which illustration is omitted, to form a driving channel (53). The sea on the lake side (L) flows to the sea side (W) by the difference of the flux and reflux of the tides through the water gate (54) at one side of the driving channel (53).

As mentioned above, the gate structures (50) may be operated by blocks separated by middle walls (22) installed on the base, and by water gates (54) arranged between the middle walls (52) through the waterway (53).

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 55 illustrates the stop log on the sea side (W), reference numeral 56 the stop log on the lake side (L), reference numeral 57 a water gate hoist for moving up or down the water gate (54), reference numerals 58 and 59 a crane for moving the stop logs up or down (55, 56), and reference numerals 60 and 61 the first and second roads of the multi layer structure.

An inner part of the middle walls (52) on one side consists of an inside stuffing space (22 a) in a certain section as illustrated in FIG. 7, which is filled with seawater, while the middle walls (52) on the other side are connected by flexible joint members (70).

The material of the above-mentioned flexible joint member (70) may be either cork having elasticity or expandable polystyrene.

The middle walls (52) on one side which are connected by the flexible joint members (70) are formed as one integrated body by attaching two structures (a) and (b) by the flexible joint member (70).

The inside stuffing space (52 a) filled with seawater in the middle walls (52) on one side of the water gate structure (50) and the connection of the middle walls (52) on the other side by the flexible joint members (70) are identical to the middle walls (22) of the turbine structure described above. Meanwhile, in the inside stuffing space (52 a) filled with seawater inside the middle wall (52), pipe meters (62) are installed for water level observation for seawater level management as illustrated in FIG. 6.

Thus, the turbine structure (20) and water gate structure (50) of the present invention saves construction costs through shorter construction period and reduced concrete placing quantity by connecting the inside stuffing spaces filled with seawater (22 a, 52 a) in the middle walls (22, 52) as two units of one block. Furthermore, they are advantageous for prevention of hydration heat and cracks of concrete and for structural stability against the buoyancy that occurs when water is discharged from one power generation conduit or driving channel for maintenance of the structures and facilities.

As described above, because unit blocks of the turbine structures and water gate structures are installed in a series, one or more units of the turbine structures and water gate structures can be installed depending on the design capacity of the tidal power plant or the size of the installation site. The optimum number of turbine structures and water gate structures can be determined in consideration of various factors depending on the required power generation capacity.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, the present invention is to provide turbine structures and gate structures for tidal power plants capable of being applied to an artificial lake, which is formed by developing a space between islands and a reclaimed land or filling land on the coast.

Furthermore, the present invention provides turbine structures and gate structures for tidal power plants which are integrated with management facilities and access roads as units of one block so that the blocks of turbine structures and gate structures may be increased or decreased according to the site scale and generation capacity of the tidal power plant and to cope with the site situation. 

1. A turbine structure having a flexible joint and an inside stuffing for tidal power plants, comprising: a base whose bottom part is on the submarine rock so that a turbine structure between lake and sea, which is connected with a gate structure by the medium of a connection structure, can be installed as two units of one block; vertical middle walls which are formed on the base, the top of which is closed by a concrete structure wherein a draft tube and a discharge tube by which seawater can move inside; turbine generators which are arranged between the middle walls through the draft tubes; an inside stuffing space which is formed in the middle walls on one side installed in a predetermined distance on the base of the gate structure and filled with seawater; and a flexible joint of connecting the middle walls on the other aide.
 2. The turbine structure of claim 1, wherein the material of the flexible joint is either cork or expandable polystyrene.
 3. The turbine structure of claim 1, wherein pipe meters for water level observation may be installed for seawater level management in the inside stuffing space filled with seawater in the middle walls
 4. A gate structure having flexible joint and inside stuffing for tidal power plant, comprising: a base which bottom part is on the submarine rock so that a gate structure between lake and sea which is connected with a turbine structure by the medium of a connection structure can be installed as two units of one block; vertical middle walls which are formed on the base, the top of which is closed by a concrete structure wherein a waterway by which seawater can move inside; water gates which are arranged on one side of the waterway installed between the middle walls; an inside stuffing space which is formed in the middle walls on one side installed in a predetermined distance on the base of the gate structure and filled with seawater; and a flexible joint of connecting the middle walls on the other side.
 5. The gate structure of claim 4, wherein the material of the flexible joint is either cork or expandable polystyrene.
 6. The gate structure of claim 5, wherein pipe meters for water level observation may be installed for seawater level management in the inside stuffing space filled with seawater in the middle walls 